One synth to rule them all?

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Timo

If you have an iPad and are after a really great JP supersaw sound, check out BeepStreet Sunrizer. Gives you a JP80x0 effectively for £7.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sunr...443663267?mt=8

Fantastic supersaws on that lil' app, and a whole more besides. Loads of usable sounds, has a nicely refined polished sound to it. The morph wheel is really great too.

Thanks, I might check that one out after I get tired of Korg iPolySix. I bought it when it was still $15 but have not given it adequate playtime.

It's quite good, but I think my fingers are old school and crave a real keyboard, because the only time I find myself firing it up are if I'm traveling or something and find myself in the hotel room, board. Most likely waiting for the girlfriend to finish her hair and makeup and emerge ready from the bathroom! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7oF9joTBU

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by TweakHead

But there's always underground and mainstream. It's just that some producers get tired of being "in the shadows", putting to much work into their music for a small niche of people who appreciate it and probably download the music from the web for free. The way I see it, it's just some musicians that get seduced by the lights of fame, success, the chance to make real money from their work.

I also think there is a tendancy to like or appreciate something just because it is "underground" or off the beaten path. We see it as rare (and I guess it is)... it's sort of like when an artist (musical or otherwise) dies and the value of their work skyrockets simply because they're dead, even if nobody cared for their work when they were alive.

I've found myself somewhat of a "victim" of this syndrome too during certain periods of my life. I remember being a fan of The Cure way before most people knew who they were. When they gained mainstream popularity, yes their sound got a little more approachable but it was still good and still worthy of The Cure label. Many folks complained about how they sold out, but the truth is success came to them because they earned it, they never really changed. It was just the perception by those who liked the "elite" feeling of being part of some underground fan base -- they didn't like feeling encroached on by the public. Their private garden had been invaded, their feeling of superiority over society compromised!

What I mean is that we don't have to stop enjoying a band or genre just because other people are onto it. But we have a tendancy to do just that.

It used to be that there were very real consequences of a band going mainstream and getting a hit in the Top 40. In North America, in the 80s and 90s, that meant you were going to hear the same some played over and over on the radio, to the point where you would be sick of anything that came from that band going forward.

But these days, most folks I think listen to Pandora, iPods, SiriusXM and the like, which has made that much less of an issue.

But on the flipside of that, sometimes bands or artists do change. Sometimes they do their best or at least most creative work in their younger years, when they are fueled by alcohol and drug abuse .... then when they get older and have families to support or are suffering health problems from all the booze, their creative edge dissipates and they mostly just live off the name they established early on. Then again there are some old dudes that really come up with some nice surprises. Did you ever hear Johnny Cash cover the song "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails?

[Berni]

I actually don't think there is much of an underground anymore with the advent of digital media & the internet. You can go from obscurity to viral in a very short space of time, which means new trends tend to come & go like fashion which is a bit sad, the ideas & artists never get chance to mature & get snapped up by labels wanting to cash in on the next musical fad of the month before they have time to & are replaced by (insert next dumb music genre here).
@the man behind the curtain - I hate the bastard that gave The Cure anti depressants!

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

I actually don't think there is much of an underground anymore with the advent of digital media & the internet. You can go from obscurity to viral in a very short space of time, which means new trends tend to come & go like fashion which is a bit sad, the ideas & artists never get chance to mature & get snapped up by labels wanting to cash in on the next musical fad of the month before they have time to & are replaced by (insert next dumb music genre here).
@the man behind the curtain - I hate the bastard that gave The Cure anti depressants!

But at the same time, digital media, the Internet, music sharing, the ease of home studios et al has made it harder for bands to turn a profit than in the old days, so they will have to keep doing something right if they want to survive.

LOL about The Cure!

[TweakHead]

Maybe not in the US, but rest assured that if you take your time to come visit europe I can show you some real tasty underground all right

[feedingear]

I reckon theres a really healthy scene of people writing whatever they like, and sharing it via soundcloud now. Just gotta follow the right people, comment, share, and give back to the community. The real art is finding it - hence I am in a few facebook groups that share discoveries and favourite acts across most genres. I love too much of a variety of music to get too precious about anything nowadays.

I've been fortunate to study the history of true pioneering electronica and synthesis, jazz, classical, avant garde, pop, and contemporary in the different courses I've done, which has helped inform me a little more on what is actually breaking entire new ground compositionally, amd then getting my subjective opinion on and asking my favourite introspective music question - "how does it make me feel?"

[feedingear]

It's an interesting time to be in a band now. Labels are either accepting that studio cost is now not a practical recovery through record sales and are building the recovery in to touring and merchandising instead.

The money is back in touring, and in merchandising. Vinyl is back in amongst the alternative scenes because of its collectability and as a rejection of the internet era of disposable, intangible media. I think the ones who are really winning now are the punters - the quality and calibre of gigs is on the up and touring (at least in Australia) is getting a lot better.

[TweakHead]

Yep, I agree with you feedingear! There's a lot of great music out there! It's easier to make and share music today and that has threatened the industry as artists don't enjoy the wide audiences they used to have. Some people see that as a bad thing, but there's also the other side of it: this availability of tools and even information brought with it a lot of creativity and the trick - I also agree with that - is to find where the gold is!

I think that the development of technology should bring about such a revolution. It should give people the tools to fulfill their creative potential. The market doesn't like it much, because they'd rather stand in the way (the receiving end) of the tools and those who seek it. And big studios don't like it either, that you can make stuff on your own instead of paying for their services. But the times, they are a changin'...